LANGUAGE IN WISCONSIN
For millennia, the place we now call Wisconsin has been home to countless languages and dialects: Indigenous languages, immigrant/refugee languages and English. How and when did people learn English and when and why did they begin to speak only English? How has English developed in distinctive ways here? Do hands-on, original research to answer these and related questions about English and other languages past and present in Wisconsin. Examine social and historical issues and issues of linguistic structure, drawing on local histories, archival data, Census records and audio recordings, with opportunities to do fieldwork in communities across the state and the region.
Prerequisites & course information
Requisites: None Course Designation: Core GenEd - Communication & Literacy Comm QR - Communication B Breadth - Humanities or Social Science Level - Elementary L&S Credit - L&S Liberal Arts and Science Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Fall 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Gather and analyze data from various sources (fieldwork, surveys, census records, local histories, archives, recordings) Audience: Undergraduate 2. Develop hypotheses about language in Wisconsin, e.g. why particular linguistic features have appeared or disappeared, or how people understand language issues including bilingualism Audience: Undergraduate 3. Apply tools from linguistics, historical linguistics, sociolinguistics and other fields to test hypotheses Audience: Undergraduate 4. Do original research on a historical or sociolinguistic topic. Audience: Undergraduate 5. Write up findings in formats appropriate for audiences of linguists and the general public, including substantial revision and rewriting of at least two papers over the course of the semester. Audience: Undergraduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Gather and analyze data from various sources (fieldwork, surveys, census records, local histories, archives, recordings) Audience: Undergraduate 2. Develop hypotheses about language in Wisconsin, e.g. why particular linguistic features have appeared or disappeared, or how people understand language issues including bilingualism Audience: Undergraduate 3. Apply tools from linguistics, historical linguistics, sociolinguistics and other fields to test hypotheses Audience: Undergraduate 4. Do original research on a historical or sociolinguistic topic. Audience: Undergraduate 5. Write up findings in formats appropriate for audiences of linguists and the general public, including substantial revision and rewriting of at least two papers over the course of the semester. Audience: Undergraduate
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027